Sarawak opposition parties object to passage of bill to amend land code

New Straits Times

21-05-2025

KUCHING: Two opposition parties today expressed their strong objection over the passage of a bill to amend the Sarawak Land Code to incorporate provisions related to wakaf, the Islamic endowment system.
They said that the amendments to include section 171A shows that the Sarawak government is not sensitive to the feelings of the multireligious, multicultural and multiracial society of Sarawak.
"The inclusion of section 171A to the Sarawak Land Code will empower the Majlis Islam Sarawak (MAIS) to deal with land that is (deemed) wakaf," they said.
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) permanent chairman Dr John Brian Anthony said PBDS recognised and respected the importance of religious freedom for all Malaysians, including Muslims.
"However, we must be firm in upholding the unique legal, cultural, and social foundations of Sarawak, especially when they pertain to land — our most vital and sensitive resource," he said in a statement when responding to the passage of the amendment Bill in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly yesterday.
He said the party's objection was grounded on preserving Sarawak's multicultural harmony where Sarawak was a model of religious and cultural diversity.
"Introducing wakaf laws into civil land legislation risks upsetting this balance by creating perceptions of religious favouritism and state-sanctioned religious encroachment into secular legal systems."
Brian said for the Dayak and other native communities, land was not just an economic asset — it was tied to ancestry, tradition, and identity.
"The idea of a parallel land system based on religious principles raises serious alarm and may erode confidence in the impartiality of our land laws," he said.
He said introducing wakaf into the Sarawak Land Code could create a dual land ownership framework that complicated land administration and weakened the clarity of property rights.
"This could have unintended consequences for development, inheritance, and dispute resolution — especially for mixed-religion or indigenous communities," he said.
Brian said the people, whether Muslim or non-Muslims, deserved to be fully consulted on any changes to land laws.
"No major legal reform should be pushed through without transparent, inclusive engagement with stakeholders, civil society, and local communities," he said.
PBK president Voon Lee Shan said the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) should not impose supremacy of Islam and Malay race in the Land Code because this could cause suspicion among Sarawakians as the treatment of people of different races, culture and religions in Sarawak.
He said MAIS, established under the Majlis Islam Sarawak Ordinance 2001, was a corporate body that could do business and own properties.
"MAIS, for the purpose of the Land Code, is deemed a Native of Sarawak under the Majlis Islam Ordinance 2001," Voon, a senior lawyer, stressed.
He said the amendment Bill, which sought to import the concept of "wakaf or endowment", could create racial and religious tensions in Sarawak if there were disputes involving native property, especially, native land in Sarawak.
He said section 1771A(1) which stated that "any person who has rights and interests on any land may lodge an application to declare such land as wakaf or endowment" could create problems, if the claimant came to make bogus claims on any land — more so over a native land.
He noted that at the moment, most native lands had no title and were not surveyed and there were bound to be dispute if bogus claims of land to be wakaf arose.
Voon said that there was nothing to prevent a person who made the bogus claim to the land, from seeking MAIS to identify and cause MAIS to declare the land as wakaf land.
"The land will then comes under the jurisdiction of MAIS," he added.